““It’s become increasingly difficult for believers to openly express themselves out of fear of the potential consequences to their careers,” a soldier says. Another soldier says the powers-that-be in the U.S. military are “bound and determined to eradicate the military and its heritage of any references to our Christian heritage and Christian beliefs.”” Christians Face Culture of Fear, Intimidation in U.S. Military Today

“But the bottom line is, horrendous government policies forced retailers to do what they have. It wasn’t Daka that created price controls or a corrupt two-tier exchange system that made the resulting inflation.” Venezuela Becomes A Nation Of Looters

“Not only is the city viewed as practically crime-free; it is also considered a secure place to invest, insulated against whimsical government policies like confiscatory taxes or damaging regulations. Will Mr. de Blasio safeguard this reputation? Does he understand how important it is?” De Blasio’s Dilemma: Too Many Rich People or Too Many Poor People?

“That may have helped de Blasio win the election. But the fact that Republicans are victims of their own success to some degree in New York should not be too comforting to de Blasio. He and his backers seem to be forgetting the flip side to this coin: New Yorkers have gotten comfortable living in a safe city, and their tolerance for crime has thus diminished. De Blasio has almost no margin of error because his political base has no idea what it’s like to live in a city that can’t control its crime.” Bill de Blasio and New York’s New Normal

“Over at the Addicting Info website, which you may not have heard of but is surprisingly highly-trafficked, Elisabeth Parker posted a piece entitled “12 Phrases Progressives Need To Ditch (And What We Can Say Instead)” encouraging her readers to gain the upper hand in the war of political language. This strategy is certainly nothing new, but it’s worth a look at her recommendations as a window into the left’s mindset and a reminder that language matters. Whichever side controls the terminology on a given issue wins – it’s as simple as that.” Controlling the Language of Political Warfare

“Now that people are losing their insurance and finding that they may not be able to keep their doctor after all, Obamacare has become the domestic policy equivalent of the Iraq War: a protracted fiasco that is proving fatal to a president’s credibility and approval rating. The only thing missing is calling in FEMA to help fix this Category-5 political disaster.” Obamacare Will Be Repealed Well In Advance Of The 2014 Elections

“When the Obamacare exchanges launched last month, celebrities were out front, with everything from nearly topless #GetCovered tweets from young actresses touting affordable care to Funny or Die videos going viral. But since then, amid mounting bad press on everything from the faulty website to the “you can keep it” controversy, Obamacare has become the punch line instead of the star.” For Hollywood, the joke’s on Obamacare

“That’s the point of How Medicaid Fails The Poor, a new book by Forbes columnist and Manhattan Institute fellow Avik Roy. Coverage isn’t care, notes Roy — and in the case of Medicaid, coverage may be worse than not being covered. That’s because extensive research indicates that Medicaid recipients actually do worse than people without any insurance at all.” Medicaid’s awful results

We’re not going to forget. “The Democrats who voted for the debacle are now scrambling for cover.” The ObamaCare Dozen

“A message for our policymaking elites: It’s easy to develop public policies that work for people like you, but — despite what you see when you look around your neighborhood — people aren’t like you.” The New Segregation

“The upshot of this formulation is always that he wants to do what is objectively right and good while his opponents have selfish or misguided motives of one kind or another. It turns out — to no one’s surprise — that this was always either a pose or a form of projection.” Obama Can’t Put Politics Aside

We’ve got a terrific line up for our annual Christmas program. First up will be the Ignite Barbershop Quartet. Ignite began singing together after a quartet matching party in November 2015. They are all Champion members of Region 21’s Scottsdale Chorus and they will be singing for us!

After lunch, Congressional District 6 congressman, Representative David Schweikart, will talk to us about what’s happening in Washington DC, and provide us with a status of the Tax Bill working its way through the House of Representatives and Senate.

Finally, member Julia Graham will install our new 2018/2019 officers. We look forward to seeing you and be sure to bring a friend or two or three!